"Making History": Sports Illustrated swimsuit number will feature a burkini and hijab pattern

For Aden, it's not new. Her modeling career got off to a good start after fulfilling expectations by participating in the 2016 Miss Minnesota USA contest, hoping to prove that the observant Muslim women who wear the headscarf are not oppressed. Although she did not win the contest, her striking look and broad smile attracted the attention of fashion industry veterans. In a few months, she became the first model to cover a hijab on the cover of a major American magazine.

"I was tired of the pictures I saw," she told the St. Cloud Times in 2016. "I never matched that stereotype of beauty, but when I noticed that d & rsquo; Other people did not dispute this, nor did they represent me, I thought: it does not hurt to be the first.

Just two years ago, Aden was still wearing suspenders and cleaning the hospital washroom. His climb into the stratosphere was by no means predictable. Before Somalia was torn apart by the civil war in the 1990s, her family lived in a small town outside the town of Kismayo, where she raised camels, goats and sheep. In 1993, she told Vogue, the violence escalated to the point where her family felt the need to escape. Her parents trekked for 11 days in Kenya on foot to settle in Kakuma refugee camp, where she was born four years later. Food and water were scarce and fighting broke out, though Aden insisted that his youth in the refugee camp was not that bad.

"We had that sense of community," she told "CBS This Morning" in 2018. "And my mom moved us to the camp to make sure we felt comfortable with them. other people who lived there. And she wanted that, from an early age, I accept differences and cultures, and I think that has a lot to do with what I am today. "

At the age of 7, his family emigrated to the United States. She arrived in St. Louis in 2005. It was the lowest period of her life, she told the St. Cloud Times. Unable to speak English, she had no idea what was happening at school and none of the other students spoke to her. The following year, his family moved to a suburb of St. Cloud, Minnesota, home to a large Somali community. Although she was ruthlessly teased for wearing the hijab in college, things gradually started to look up. As a teenager, she became the first Somali student – and, as far as we can remember, the first Muslim woman – to be elected Queen back home to her high school .

"I saw how something as small as it brought my community and school together, how did it encourage other girls like me to join the government and student clubs," he said. she later told Vogue, remembering that other girls wearing the hijab "were coming up to me and saying," Oh, I want to go to prom "or" how can I get into the "? orchestra? "Things I had no idea of, but who always came to me for advice.

In September 2016, a Somali man stabbed 10 times at a Saint-Cloud shopping mall, injuring 10 people and being shot by a police officer on leave. Then a freshman at St. Cloud State University, Aden attended a campus rally to highlight the city's commitment to diversity in this time of racial tension. Beside her was a white woman whose curious baby was trying to grab his hijab. Rather than annoying, Aden turned to play with the boy, smiling and offering him his hand. A Star Tribune photographer took a picture at that moment and it "went viral," Aden later recalled in an interview with "CBS This Morning".

His journey to stardom began two months later. In November 2016, she became the first fully covered Muslim woman to enter the Miss Minnesota USA contest, pairing her hijab with her long evening dress. During the swimsuit party, while her blonde Midwestern rivals posed in skimpy bikinis, she sang on stage in a dark blue burkini and wedge heels under a thunderous applause.

"I wanted people to know that you could always be really cute and modest at the same time," she told Star Tribune.

At first, her skeptical mother told the paper that Aden's modest burkini was too revealing and that she would rather have her daughter focus on school. Eventually, however, she came and agreed to attend the pageant.

"My mother was so proud!" Aden told the St. Cloud Times. "She was a little shocked when she saw the bikinis and others, because she was not used to it, and some of my older parents were like," Aah! ". But I wanted them to see, that's the American lifestyle. I want to kiss all sides of us. On one side you are from Minnesota, but on the other, you are still Somali. It's great to see these two worlds intertwine. "

Even though Aden has not gone beyond the semi-finals, the world's media outlets have taken over history. The 19-year-old was then bombarded with messages from other young Muslim women thanking her for her courage, even though some critics had told her that she had contravened Islamic law by participating in the parade. Others insisted that her burkini and her hijab were symbols of oppression – an argument for which she had little patience, as she entered the competition to demonstrate that it was not the case.

"I do not force my hijab on others, I do not even preach my religion; I literally just wear a swimsuit in which I feel comfortable, "she said in an interview with the St. Cloud Times. "If you think it's so horrible and it threatens you, that's your problem. I will not make it my problem. "

Critics have shown that women are held to an impossible level, she added. "I'm covered, but I still get those comments that say I should not be. But the girls who wear the bikinis are told that they are too revealing! Enough. It's their body, their choice. "

In the end, the recruiters also took note of it. Shortly after the contest, Aden was signed by IMG Models, a prestigious agency representing some of the biggest names in the industry, and landed his first magazine cover. In February 2017, she competed for Kanye West's Yeezy collection at New York Fashion Week and participated in Italian fashion shows for Max Mara and Alberta Ferretti in Milan. Photo shoots for Harper's Bazaar, Allure and Glamor followed.

As Vogue pointed out, Aden's meteoric rise coincided with President Trump's decision to limit refugee admissions and suspend immigration from six Muslim-majority countries, including Somalia. But fashion editors and creative directors have invoked her striking look as the main reason for her candidacy, not her desire to make a political statement. Some pointed out that it was time for the industry, criticized for its lack of diversity, to develop models corresponding to its clientele.

"If you walk down a high-end shopping street in a big city, you will not be surprised to see a Max Mara coat worn with a hijab," said Ian Griffiths, creative director of the label, Vogue. . "So why should not our track also take this into account?"

The pressure for greater representation and diversity has also led to changes at Sports Illustrated. According to Vogue, in recent years, the magazine has sought to make the swimsuit issue more inclusive by using plus size models and others that do not necessarily meet traditional beauty standards. "At SI Swimsuit, we strive to continue to convey the message that, whether you're wearing a room, two-piece or a burkini, you're the driver of your own beauty," the magazine said on Monday.